Bethlehem Catholic football team's Will Ward finds home at linebacker

Will Ward leads Bethlehem Catholic’s football team in tackles,… (KEVIN MINGORA, THE MORNING…)

November 14, 2013|By Stephen Miller, Of The Morning Call

As he watched film of the Bethlehem Catholic defense, Southern Lehigh football coach John Toman needed little time to find the first player his team must block.

"Will Ward, the middle linebacker," Toman said Wednesday without hesitation.

"He's a good kid, very active. He's a downhill player. I personally think he's what makes their defense click. He cleans up a lot of messes. He's involved in a lot of plays."

In one season, Ward has developed from a reserve who saw spot duty into the most disruptive defensive player for the revitalized Golden Hawks. He leads second-seeded Bethlehem Catholic (7-4 overall) in tackles (79), tackles for loss (18) and sacks (seven) as it heads into Saturday's District 11 Class 3A final against No. 1 Southern Lehigh (10-1).

It took time for the Bethlehem Catholic coaches to find the right home for Ward, a 5-11, 215-pound junior. He spent his freshman season at Allen, where he was a quarterback and defensive back, before transferring to Bethlehem Catholic as a sophomore.

Ward started out as a safety with the Golden Hawks. Injuries and a lack of depth prompted coach Joe Henrich to shift Ward to linebacker.

Ward's ball instincts stood out right away, even though he didn't play a ton as a sophomore. He registered 13 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack last year.

"Just listening during meetings and coming out here, he [Henrich] has been behind me the whole time and letting me know what to do since last year," Ward said. "I didn't get much playing time last year, but just looking at Marco [Blasco] and Joe Ruggiero, who was here last year, they led me."

Now Ward is the one leading the Bethlehem Catholic linebackers in their pursuit of the football. He, Blasco and Antwon Keenan rank 1-2-4 among Golden Hawks in tackles.

Henrich will look for that unit to excel Saturday at Southern Lehigh. The Spartans run the Wing-T offense, a scheme that has all but disappeared from the Lehigh Valley Conference.

"Really, the whole second and third levels against the Wing-T are important because those guys, if they're getting their eyes in the backfield and watching too much of the chaos, they're going to get lost," Henrich said. "We give them very specific things to look at. The whole second and third level, it's very important that their eyes are in the right place."

Ward has used his eyes to find opposing ballcarriers all season. He had his first big game in Bethlehem Catholic's LVC opener against Emmaus, producing seven tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. The Golden Hawks won that game 32-29, moving to 2-0 overall and providing an early jolt of confidence coming off a 1-9 season in 2012.

Ward also had an eight-tackle, one-sack, three-tackles-for-loss performance against Liberty that helped the Golden Hawks finish the first half of their regular season 4-1. He ended the regular season with eight tackles, 21/2 sacks and 21/2 tackles for loss against Central Catholic.

Though he started out his high school career focused more on offense, Ward has grown to love hitting from his linebacker spot. He also has become a key part of Bethlehem Catholic's special teams. He has kicked off 36 times for the Golden Hawks, putting eight kicks into the end zone for touchbacks and a bunch of others inside the 10-yard line.

Now that he's found a home on Bethlehem Catholic's roster, he wants to keep the Golden Hawks playing for as long as possible.

"It's a great community [at Bethlehem Catholic]. It's small, so I like that, too," Ward said. "All together, we've just been trying to get our name out there and be a good team."